Jiang Youyi couldn’t argue with Yan Wei and was furious.
Recently, Yan Wei had indeed been acting very strangely—not only had her grades plummeted dramatically, but she had also taken up smoking. Under normal circumstances, she should have been at school for evening self-study at this hour, yet she had skipped it to come to an internet cafe outside the school.
Ever since Jiang Youyi’s birthday, Yan Wei had done too many things that shattered Jiang Youyi’s previous impression of her. Jiang Youyi couldn’t help but wonder if her words that day had negatively affected Yan Wei, causing her to become like this.
People say, “Stay close to the virtuous, and you’ll become virtuous; stay close to the wicked, and you’ll become wicked.” It seemed that she, a piece of rotten mud from the mire, had indeed corrupted the good student.
It was her fault—it had been wrong from the very beginning.
Jiang Youyi suddenly fell silent.
Yan Wei had a bad feeling. From Jiang Youyi’s silence, she sensed the panic of an impending storm.
Had she pushed Jiang Youyi too hard?
What if it backfired?
Yan Wei wanted to say something to ease the tension, but her usually sharp mind refused to cooperate. She was so afraid of ruining things that she became overly nervous and couldn’t speak.
Just then, Jiang Youyi said to her, “Yan Wei, if what happened that night made you become like this, I apologize to you.”
“I shouldn’t have approached you, nor should I have said those things to you. Just think I was out of my mind… Oh, I actually drank a little that day and got drunk. So, you don’t have to take what I said that night seriously.”
“I don’t like you at all. We’re incompatible and have no common topics. The reason I pretended to be drunk and acted crazy was because I knew you would definitely reject me. How could a good student like you possibly have an early romance? Besides, we’re both girls, so I could use that as an excuse to distance myself from you.”
“So, I came up with this disgusting way to free myself from responsibility. But now things have gone beyond expectations, and I’m exhausted. I don’t want to pretend anymore. You don’t have to feel guilty because of my terrible behavior or force yourself to cater to my preferences just to stay friends with someone like me.”
“I’m just trash, a rotten person. I don’t deserve it at all.”
Jiang Youyi looked calm, her face expressionless. As she spoke these words, she kept her eyes fixed on Yan Wei, allowing Yan Wei to see her dark, deep gaze clearly.
Yan Wei went from initial shock to gradually calming down. She had been standing so long that her legs felt stiff. Jiang Youyi’s final words echoed in her ears: “Let’s just go our separate ways and not affect each other anymore. You go back to being your good student, and from now on, we’ll stay out of each other’s lives. Okay?”
Her chest felt tight, as if a stone were pressing down on it, making it hard to breathe.
Yan Wei thought to herself: Jiang Youyi, you’re really something. If I hadn’t read your diary, I would have almost believed you!
“Although today isn’t April Fool’s Day, I won’t believe a single word of what you just said,” Yan Wei stood stubbornly, straightening her back. “Jiang Youyi, it’s fine if you don’t like me, but I have a few heartfelt words, and I hope you’ll listen patiently.”
“I don’t know what your definition of a ‘good student’ is, but I’ve never thought of myself as one. I just didn’t dare to indulge or make promises lightly. Whether you believe it or not, this is the real me now.”
“I didn’t change myself for you, and you don’t need to take responsibility for my actions. If you’ve started to dislike me after seeing my true nature, I have nothing to say.”
Yan Wei was having trouble distinguishing between dream and reality. If this really was a dream, then at least in this dream, she wanted to be brave—to no longer let her own cowardice lead to regret.
Even if it wouldn’t change anything, she just wanted peace of mind.
That night’s rejection was already set in stone, but if she had to make the decision again now, she would still refuse—only this time, she would choose a gentler way to avoid the awkwardness, embarrassment, and mutual harshness that followed.
Her feelings for Jiang Youyi were actually quite complicated. What Jiang Youyi liked was the version of her who excelled in both character and academics, gentle in temperament, wrapped in various halos of achievement. She wasn’t sure if the version of herself who had returned from seven years in the future could still be liked by Jiang Youyi.
More importantly, she wasn’t sure whether her feelings for Jiang Youyi were rooted more in genuine affection or in the regret born of lingering attachment. That’s why she had been carefully testing the waters, not daring to confess her true feelings—she wanted to give them both some buffer time.
“Friends” was the perfect excuse.
She didn’t necessarily have to become lovers with the present-day Jiang Youyi, nor did she believe that a romantic relationship was the only path to fulfillment. What she hoped for was for Jiang Youyi to overcome her difficulties, safely make it through the college entrance exams, so that they would have more time to look toward the future.
Furthermore, if her parents found out about Jiang Youyi’s existence, they would surely blame Jiang Youyi for her rebelliousness and all the changes they deemed negative. It might even bring more harm to Jiang Youyi—something she absolutely could not allow.
Until she had grown strong enough to protect Jiang Youyi, she would keep her feelings to herself and continue to examine her own heart. But at the same time, she also wanted to give herself a chance.
She wouldn’t let go again.
A conversation meant to be heartfelt ended inexplicably. It seemed neither of them had achieved their initial purpose, yet something invisible had quietly shifted.
Zhou Xiaoxiao and Zhang Yutong had been shopping at the mall for two hours. Just as they stepped out of the bookstore, they saw Jiang Youyi and Yan Wei walking out of the restroom next to the internet café, one after the other.
“Yan Wei!” Zhou Xiaoxiao exclaimed with obvious delight, holding the books she had just bought and waving them as she greeted Yan Wei.
Zhang Yutong’s attention, however, was fixed on Jiang Youyi beside Yan Wei. She glanced at the nearby internet café with its flashing esports lights, lost in thought.
Yan Wei hadn’t expected to run into Zhou Xiaoxiao here either. Her gaze moved past Zhou Xiaoxiao and Zhang Yutong to the bookstore behind them, and she finally understood—the newly opened bookstore Zhou Xiaoxiao had mentioned was in this mall.
“You bought a lot of things,” Yan Wei said with a polite smile.
This kind of smile often appeared on Yan Wei’s face, but Jiang Youyi had already seen another side of her. Seeing Yan Wei smile like this now felt fake.
Hmm, a bit perfunctory.
But she still liked it. In fact, it seemed she liked it even more than before.
Running into Yan Wei at the mall, Zhou Xiaoxiao’s eyes were filled with unmistakable joy. She automatically ignored Jiang Youyi, who paid her little attention, and struck up a conversation with Yan Wei: “Yan Wei, when are you heading back to school? We can share a taxi with Yutong!”
“Are you going back already?” Yan Wei asked, a little surprised, then turned to Jiang Youyi. “What time is it?”
Jiang Youyi glanced at her wristwatch. “Eight-thirty.”
“It’s still early! The dorm curfew is at ten, and a taxi ride back takes at most twenty minutes.”
Yan Wei didn’t want to go back so soon. Jiang Youyi definitely wouldn’t go home, and once she left, Jiang Youyi would just head back to the internet cafe.
Although this internet cafe was relatively clean, in Yan Wei’s eyes, the environment was far from ideal. Besides, they had just had a minor disagreement earlier, and there was no telling whether some of the unsavory characters around might pick a fight with Jiang Youyi.
She still wanted to persuade Jiang Youyi to just move into the dormitory, so she had other plans for the remaining hour.
“We can only come out once a week. Once we go back, we’ll have to wait until next week. It’s not easy to get out of school—how can we be willing to go back so early?” Yan Wei smiled, shifting the topic. “Are you guys hungry? That taro ball shop up ahead is pretty good. Want to try it? My treat.”
After saying this, she pointed to the new product advertisement hanging in front of the taro ball shop and said to Jiang Youyi, “Try their signature item. You’ll like it.”
Jiang Youyi coolly turned her head away.
Only Yan Wei, who was closest to her, noticed the faintly reddened tips of her ears peeking out from between strands of her hair.
It must be a coincidence.
How could Yan Wei know she had a sweet tooth?